Smith too tight

[don_sanders]

Going to have to watch the node spacing in the future. Not enough room for some of the figs to ripen. Hard to tell the ripeness, broke of an unripe fig, cracked a branch, and still mangled the ripe fig. Hah.

[TorontoJoe]

How do you increase node spacing? This is an issue I'm starting to experience this year. So far on Exquisito I've been thinning figs early to keep them from over-clustering, but the nodes are still developing really close

[Realtorbyday]

Maybe you could move it down the row a little where it gets just an hour or 2 less per day of sun in the spring during veggie growth period? Could that work?

[Badgerferrit]

10-20% shade cloth perhaps?

[great08]

No way would I add shade.

However, fertilizer and water always do the same… as well as heat and pruning in late Spring.

[JCT]

I noticed that. Initial growth on my Smith had some really tight node spacing. A little later, after the figs had set, growth took off and spacing is normal.

[Bellefleurs]

I am seeing this with one of my trees (not a Smith) and I have been wondering how there will be room for the figs to ripen. The clusters are very tight.

[claret]

Hey Don, thanks for your post and ideas for how to manage the situation.
I'm curious: I can't read the weight in the 2nd photo. What's an average Smith weigh in your growing conditions?

[ZingsFigs]

In the text at bottom of picture it says 144 Smith. That might be the weight

[Realtorbyday]

144 is not the weight. It's marked on the side of the pot also.

[don_sanders]

144 is the tree number.

Smith figs are around medium/small. This one was around 42g.

[Wisner]

I think the tight spacing is a common trait of Smith, my Smith trees all do it to some extent.

[Drfig]

Its growing conditions like rings in a trees wood. The better the growing condition, the further the node spacing is my understanding. I know when my trees are root bound in the pot the node spacing is tiny.

[Wisner]

My Smith do it on in-ground good growing trees.

[don_sanders]

I agree that growing conditions have a huge impact but I don't know that I would say "better". 4 hours of daylight will give you lots of space between nodes but is not better. Lots of cuttings from CA seem to have really tight nodes.

[Drfig]

thinking about it some more that makes some more sense. It is probably a mechanism to get more sun light on the branch

[Wisner]

Here is some tight spaced Smith.


Here are some regular spaced on same tree.

[JT1923]

Jeez that cluster is nuts

[TNJed]

Is the cluster on the sunnier side?

[Wisner]

Those are on the East side, TN Jed. The tree gets a lot of sun.

[fruitnut]

Thin out the tightly spaced figs when they are small. Problem solved...lol

[don_sanders]

What?!? All Fig lives matter.

Even though I ripen more figs than I know what to do with and it could probably make the remaining figs taste even better, I have a mental block when it comes to removing figs that will ripen before they are ripe. Haha

[Wisner]

They all ripen. Sometimes I have to twist them off to pick them. Same branch after almost all have ripened.